“We plan to respectfully ask for one school resource officer,” Putorti said. “We will also ask for police presence at the schools in the morning and afternoon. We will discuss the funding and the fact that the Police Department is down a number of officers and what, if anything, can be done to fulfill our request.”

School started Aug. 28 at the district’s four schools, but without an SRO in place. In the wake of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings, police presence both inside and outside the schools was increased. Officer Mike Jasmin was appointed acting SRO, but the position ended when the school year ended in June.

The school board in April said they didn’t want to rush to place SROs in all the schools, and asked that a $377,000 proposal to do so be removed from the annual budget.

Residents were then asked, in a non-binding question on the annual budget ballot in June, if they were willing to spend $377,000 to put SROs in the schools. The question was rejected by a vote of 938-366.

The town has since spent $80,000 for additional security upgrades at the schools, boosting an already comprehensive plan it had in place well before the Dec. 14 Newtown shootings.

Putorti said an SRO would help serve as a deterrent should something bad happen and would slow someone down until additional help could arrive. In addition to providing security benefits, Putorti said SROs build rapport with students, teach outreach programs like substance abuse dangers and bullying and act as a liaison between students, school officials and the police.

Former First Selectman Paul Roy told the Board of Selectmen last week he believes there is enough manpower on the police force so that one or two officers can be reassigned to fill the role of an SRO, as well as a community police officer.

Lt. Paul Satkowski said Friday the department is down eight officers, with four out on worker’s compensation and three new recruits in training at the police academy. Those recruits, however, won’t be on the street until late spring at the earliest. Funds for an SRO were not budgeted in this year’s police budget.

Satkowski said the department is operating with a “25 percent” manpower shortage. The potential for officers coming back from worker’s comp, and the new recruits coming aboard next year, may allow for allocation of an SRO, but Satkowski could not definitively say if and when that could happen.

In the meantime, Satkowski said police are remaining vigilant.

“Our officers are still out there,” he said. “They are still maintaining contacts and are trying to be visible around the schools. But they still have the rest of the town to patrol, too. We’re trying to do the best we can with the resources we currently have.”